Low Carb Shamrock Protien Shakes

 When I was a kid I was obsessed with Shamrock Shakes from McDonald's. I has been a lifelong problem. I even had Shamrock Shake stickers on my dorm room mini-fridge at university.


While we were on vacation Kev had a Shamrock Shake on his cheat day and I have been craving one ever since.

So, I altered some Shamrock Shake recipes I found online to make it a low carb treat. We are only a week away from St. Paddy's Day, so get your fill now or drink it anytime of year!

Here it is in all of its high calorie glory. I really liked it using half-and0





Ingredients:
1/2 cup of half-and-half cream
1/2 cup of water
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder
1/4 teaspoon of mint extract
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 ice cubes
2-3 drops of green food coloring (optional)
*you can sprinkle grated dark chocolate on top for a tasty garnish

Procedure:
Mix all together in a blender and boom, a low carb take on McDonald's Shamrock Shake!

Nutritional Information: To come.
This will vary depending on what brand of protein powder you use. You can safely add a little bit of water in most cases.
Calories:
Fat:
Carbohydrates:
Sugar:
Fibre:

Bacon Cheddar Cauliflower Fritters

I have a hard time adding cauliflower into the mix in my meals. I am not a huge fan its the taste, but I
love the potential it has for substituting foods like potatoes in my diet.

One potato product I really, really missed was breakfast hash browns. I love them loose and McDonald's style and this recipe is spot on with producing the texture of grated potato hash browns.

Now, this recipe is time consuming. Give yourself a good hour the first time you make it.

It should make twelve fritters.

Ingredients
-5 slices of crispy bacon
-1 medium head of cauliflower
-1 jalapeño
-3 eggs
-1 teaspoon of onion powder
-1 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (I use tex-mex)
-1 tablespoon of shredded parmesan cheese
-3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons of almond flour
-salt and pepper
-coconut oil (for the frying pan)

*serve with salsa and/or sour cream

Procedure
1. Prepare 5 pieces of bacon, make sure it is crispy and easy to break up!
2. Steam cauliflower florets until tender. I did this on a frying pan and it took 7-8 minutes.
3. Rinse cauliflower with cold water and mash it like potatoes. Try to break up all of the big pieces.
4. Place cauliflower in a colander let water drain for 10 minutes.
5. Remove seeds from jalapeño and chop it up into small pieces.
6. Whisk together eggs, jalapeño, parmesan cheese, bacon, 2 tablespoons of almond flour and a dash of both salt and pepper.
7. Drain cauliflower and add to egg mixture. Whisk together.
8. Add cheddar cheese and the rest of the almond flour to the mixture. Whisk together well.
9. Heat coconut oil in a skillet or pan, make sure it is covered well.
10. Add batter in your desired size, I recommend a heaping tablespoon.
11. Press each cake down with a fork and fry until golden brown.
12. Flip.
13. Remove and place on paper towel.

Alternatively, you can fry your batter up in a loose fashion. It does not look as pretty, but it is a great alternative if you like it crisper (or with breakfast). You can add salsa to the mix if you make in the loose fashion.


Nutritional Information (per fritter)*
Calories: 170
Total Fat: 14.1g
Carbohydrates: 3.7g
Fiber: 1.5g
Sugar: 1.1g
Protein 8.5g

*This will vary depending on what type of bacon you use and minor changes on exact amounts of cauliflower used. I used very thick bacon, an easy way to cut calories (etc.) is to use a thinner cut of bacon.

Fried Pepperoni, The Easiest Night-In Snack

I used to hate pepperoni, now I love it.

Its greasy greatness, the perfect treat if you are staying in and want a quick snack.

Ingredients
-100g of your favourite pepperoni (I used cheddar pep in my photos)
-coconut oil
-sour cream, salsa, mustard or ranch for dip

Procedure
1. Cut up your desired amount of pepperoni into thick (or thin) rounds.
2. Heat coconut oil at a medium-high on stove top.
3. Fry pepperoni until crisp.
4. Place pepperoni on paper towel and let sit for a couple minutes to allow grease to run off.
5. Serve with selected dip.


Nutritional Information (per 100g)*
Calories: 493
Total Fat: 43.0g
Total Carbs: 0g
Protein: 21.9g

*This is approximate, different brands and makes of pepperoni may have different nutritional values.

Pork Rind Nachos

This is such a simple snack, one of my favourites for sure! Before I cut carbs out of my diet nachos were my go-to snack. I missed them so much! So, once a week I will treat myself to some pork rind nachos to quell  my snacking needs.

Ingredients
-1 bag of pork rinds
-1 cup of grated cheese
-100g of deli chicken (or cut-up bacon, steak etc.)
-sauces for garnish to taste (salsa, sour cream, ranch)

*I recommend tomatilla salsa, it tends to have fewer carbs than other salsas.

Procedure (I microwave mine, but you can oven back them the same way you would bake tortilla chips)
1. Spread pork rinds over a plate.
2. Sprinkle half the cheese over the pork rinds.
3. Spread the meat over the cheese and pork rinds.
4. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the meat.
** I drip chipotle sauce over the top as well for a little more spice.
5. Microwave for 1:30 to 2:00. Keep an eye on it and pull the dish if all of the cheese has melted to a gooey point. You may need to rotate the plate half-way through if your microwave does not rotate well.

Nutritional Information To Come...

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

This one is super easy!

Its a great appetizer or side for dinner parties and it also doubles as a quick greens fix when you are feeling overwhelmed by meat (even though this still includes meat). I never really liked asparagus until I tried it roasted in olive oil. It is as simple as cutting the asparagus out and just cooking the asparagus in the tablespoon in olive oil. If you are are on a budget, try switching the prosciutto out for normal deli ham.

And, for a little more flavour add parmesan cheese to the mix. Sprinkle grated parm over the cooked asparagus.

I recommend eating your delicious asparagus as soon as possible after removing the from the oven. Or, plating them for a second time afterwards so that the remaining olive oil will not make your asparagus soggy.

Below are the directions to make one serving (one prosciutto wrapped asparagus) for four people. You make as many servings as needed by increasing the asparagus spears and prosciutto at a three to one ratio.


Ingredients: 
- 12 asparagus spears
- 4 pieces of prosciutto
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil







Procedure: 
1. Pre-heat oven to 400F.
2. Trim asparagus.
3. Wrap three asparagus with one pieces of prosciutto. I like to cut the pieces of prosciutto in half, length wise and use the two halves to wrap the asparagus.
4. Coat each in olive oil.
5. Once the oven has pre-heated cook for 7 minutes.
6. Flip asparagus and cook for 4 minutes.

Nutritional Information (it makes 4 servings)
Calories: 70
Total Fat: 5.11g
Carbs: 1.8g
Fiber: 0.9g
Sugars: 0.6g
Protein: 5.1g

Keto Garlic Fingers

Pie pan keto garlic fingers.

Okay, another not so new recipe. But, a great variation of the low carb pizza recipe I posted previously.

If you are like me and from the east coast of Canada you know pizza is always better with garlic fingers. So I use half of my thick crust pizza recipe to make garlic fingers and half to make pizza. This fits perfectly in two pie pans.

So, whats so different? Well, not much. This actually has fewer carbs than the pizza. Instead of pizza sauce use garlic butter.

You can find garlic butter specifically at some grocery stores or you can make it (to taste) by mixing garlic and butter; then melting it in the microwave. I add Italian Seasoning or oregano as well.

Pie pan low-carb pizza. 

After spreading the butter mixture on the cooled crust add cheese (and bacon if you like) like a pizza.

Just a few changes to the pizza recipe and you have garlic fingers, a great side dish!

Here's the link to the crust recipe. Enjoy!


http://katesketo.blogspot.ca/2013/01/thick-keto-pizza-crust.html

Low Carb Pulled Chicken

Step One: Root-beer and seasoning! 

I make pulled every week. It is the perfect meat ingredient to have kicking around the house, we put it click here to check out that recipe).  But, we wanted to switch it up a little bit and made the switch to chicken. Now, it is a bit more expensive, but it is just as tasty and a great way to change things up a little bit. 
in everything and eat it on its own for a quick lunch (

We did not buy a jumbo pack for this experiment, one family pack of boneless skinless chicken thighs made a of shredded chicken for two hungry adults. We used chicken thighs because they are cheaper than chicken breasts and hold the flavour better than chicken breasts.

This recipe is basically the same as pulled pork, we just switched up the meat and times.

Ingredients

Fully cooked!

-One can of diet or stevia root beer
-Seasonings (we used paprika, chilli powder, pepper, chilli flakes)
-Hot sauce
-One package of chicken thighs

Procedure
1. Place chicken thighs in slow-cooker set on low heat.
2. Pour root-beer over chicken.
3. Spice to taste.
4. Stir/flip chicken every 2 hours (not really necessary, if you are leaving it overnight)
5. After 7 to 8 hours drain the leftover liquid from the crock-pot.
6. Pull apart chicken.
7. Season and sauce to taste. 

-Depending on what taste you are going for you can use different sauces. We have used everything from 0 carb sweet Hawaiian sauces to salsa. You can mix it up, I tend to use chipotle sauce and Kraft low cal barbecue sauce.

It is pretty hard to make pulled chicken look pretty.
But, damn it is tasty.

Thick Keto Pizza Crust

This is my favourite low-carb pizza crust by far! It is not eggy like others and it is thick enough to carry flavour and support the toppings. 

I usually top my pizza with chicken, bacon and other meats. I have not added toppings into the nutrition considerations.

This crust is FILLING, I consider a quarter of the crust one serving. The nutritional information below is for the entire crust, no toppings. 

UPDATE TIPS TO MAKE THIS BETTER & EASIER: 
-take the bacon grease and add a teaspoon to a tablespoon to the crust mix, this will help everything mix together if the greasy is still hot
-mix the crust in a large measuring cup and then leave it for a few minutes on the preheated oven to melt everything together, this will make the cream cheese less chunky when you whisk it 

Ingredients

-4 Tablespoons Of Herb & Garlic Cream Cheese

-3 Eggs

-1/4 Cup Whipping Cream

-1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

-1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

-1/4 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning

-1 Cup Grated Cheese (I use Tex Mex or Marble)

Prep Work

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

-Grease pan and layer one cup of grated cheese on the greased pan. 

Procedure

-Beat cream cheese with eggs in a medium bowl. 

-Add whipping cream, grated parmesan cheese, italian spices and garlic to the first mixture one at a time. 

-Pour mixture over grated cheese lining the pan. 

-Bake for 10-12 minutes and then let cool. 

Your crust is now finished, now just add your favourite sauce and toppings and you will have  one of the best low-carb pizzas around. 

Top It Off

-Spread sauce on crust.

-Add toppings and cheese.

-Bake for 15 minutes. I find this varies by oven, keep an eye on your pizza and make the call when it bubbles.

-Let stand for 10 minutes. This will harden everything up and make it easier to eat, it also melts together further for a more flavourful pizza experience. 

Nutritional Information For Entire Crust: 

Calories: 1000

Fat: 75.5g

Carb: 4g

Fiber: 0g

Sugars: 2g

Protein: 54g


Here are some beautiful keto pizzas and garlic fingers made in personal pie pans.
I can make three large pie pan pizzas with this recipe. I usually do two pizzas and one garlic fingers. For the garlic finger recipe click here.

How I Lost A Small Child: 6 Tips To Help Beat Your Belly

After I started dating my boyfriend I put on a little comfort weight. About 30 to 35 lbs, and man did I feel shitty.

One of our most recent photos in December.

Just after Christmas last year my boyfriend started a new regime and immediately started seeing results. I was impressed, so I followed his lead. I am now back down the 35 and feeling (and looking) better than ever. It took me about two and a half months to drop the weight. I thought I would share a few of the tips that made it work for me.

I'm not going to go into detail about my eating changes, but essentially I have been living a 'keto lifestyle' since late April. Low to no carbs. Not for everyone, but it works for me. If want more info on Keto check out the links below.
http://katesketo.blogspot.ca/
http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf
http://genaw.com/lowcarb/recipes.html


Here are my six tips for weight loss:

1. Cut your drink caloric intake. Pretty simple to do, replace sugary drinks with sweetened drinks. I have always preferred diet pop, the hardest part of this for me was with energy drinks and juice. I pretty much skip juice these days, but if I need a fix will grab a tropical punch Fuze or a Vitamin Water 0. 

2. Have a dedicated partner. My boyfriend is my partner in crime, we both talk diet and exercise together, we keep it together for each other. If you cannot find someone you think will be suitable, join an online community to discuss and track your goals with others. I think that sites like the Reddit link above are best for this, you can see other peoples recipes and photos without feeling obliged to post things. I try not to tell people I am trying to lose weight (other than a 'partner') because I hate questions about progress and if its working... etc. The worst feeling the world is dieting and then knowing others don't even notice the difference, it is very discouraging. 

3. Track what your eating for at least a month. You can tie this in with the concept above. I use the app 'LoseIt' and I have online profile with a few friends from the app's forum who cheer me on as I progress. I think it is really important to look at how much your eating if you are unhappy with your weight, I gauge my caloric intake by the day and the week. As long as I am under for the week I am usually happy. I think it is the first step and really helps you be honest with where you need to cut back. For me it was just about everywhere, too much junk food. Sustain the practice for at least a month, attempt to be under the calorie count everyday and track your weight changes. 

4. Have a treat. With my specific diet I noticed it was very difficult to keep up in soccer. At my first low-carb soccer game I felt about 90 years old. So I began having a treat, once a week, to shake a sugar craving and prep for soccer. Every week, I had either two minis or one large cupcake from Calgary's local cupcake haven Crave. It was worth it! Saving the money I would normally spend on a half-ass generic quality sugar binge daily to weekly gourmet cupcake was something I could do for the rest of my life. A tiny treat for serious exercising is good, I would recommend eating first so you can burn it off quicker.

The 'new' us in August.

5. Make your own meals. Changing to a keto lifestyle required a lot more thought on creating meals. Some things are easy, burgers without buns but creating a low carb 'pizza' style meal was more work. I recommend cutting the amount of times you eat out daily. Not because it is necessarily bad for you*, but because it is a lot easier to skip the craving items when you don't give your self the option to eat them. Also, it really makes you enjoy eating your meals more. I love to eat out, so this step is the hardest for me. Bag your meals daily and think of eating out as a treat, if it helps make eating out and experience. Go to a nice restaurant, treat it like the cupcake situation above. Its about quality vs. quantity. 

A chubby photo I still love from Disneyland.

6. Keep your chubby pictures and look at them often. I did some of the coolest things while I was packing on the pounds. I went to Calgary Stampede and Disneyland. I have pictures that recapture these amazing moments, but were hindered a bit by my weight. I keep these pictures around and display them like the rest. Its nice hearing how much better I look, but the best feeling is looking at the picture and knowing I have a way to combat the bulge in the future. It also makes me feel responsible for myself, I got myself into those fat pants and I am the only person who could get myself back out. 


*I worked for McDonald's Calgary Office this summer and ate there twice a day, 4-5 days a week all summer. I managed to lose all the weight mentioned above and all I changed was not eating bread on my burger, diet or sugar free drinks and side salad instead of fries. The one little think I did miss was ketchup, I stick with a mayo based sauce to avoid sugar carbs (not a probem for you if you are not doing Keto).